Jim Kelly: 'I have a lot more to do'

Jeff DiVeronica, Staff writer
12:12 p.m. EDT July 19, 2014

Jim Kelly works with the kids at his Jim Kelly Football Camp at St. John Fisher College in Pittsford, NY. Kelly gives Jack LeStrange, 13, of Walworth advice on throwing. (Photo: TINA MACINTYRE-YEE @tyee23/staff photographer)

Harry Wentworth, 10, of Rochester didn't want an autograph but wanted to give Jim Kelly a picture he drew of Kelly with the words, "Kelly Tough" on it. Kelly high fived him. Someone else had given him the Elmo earlier. (Photo: TINA MACINTYRE-YEE @tyee23/staff photographer)

Daniel Svoboda, 10, of Whitby, Canada poses for a photo with Kelly after getting his autograph. Whitby has been coming to the camp for three years. (Photo: TINA MACINTYRE-YEE @tyee23/staff photographer)

Jim Kelly's adopted hometown is Buffalo, but he's never forgotten about what it was like growing up in East Brady, Pa.

"I was a kid once and I know what it's like to look forward to doing something and you look forward to meeting somebody," Kelly said, explaining why even though he was fatigued, he felt he needed to attend his one-day football camp at St. John Fisher College on Tuesday morning. "I want to make a difference in these kids' lives, not only on the field but from what I'm going to tell them later on about the choices they make as young adults that can impact what they become."

Despite feeling fatigue, Jim Kelly didn't want to disappoint campers at St. John Fisher College on Tuesday morning

The 54-year-old former Buffalo Bills quarterback is still recovering from radiation and chemotherapy treatments throughout the spring. He's lost his hair and dropped 51 pounds. Kelly is scheduled to have an MRI in mid-August to determine how well the treatments worked. He initially wanted to keep his fight against sinus cancer more private, he said, but his wife, Jill, changed his mind because of their family's strong Christian faith.

"Jim, we need as many people praying for us as possible," Jill told her husband, the Pro Football Hall of Famer.

Kelly, who is eating predominantly through a feeding tube, said the response from fans has continued to be "unbelievable," yet he realizes others face the same battles, or worse, in anonymity or privately. "The good thing about making my cause more public is they are helping me, too," Kelly said, alluding to how he has learned so much about what to be prepared for during treatment and recovery stages such as losing the ability to taste food or create much saliva.

Now Kelly, in turn, can help others cope and try to be prepared because his fight has been so public. Kelly is planning on attending the Aug. 2 induction of his former teammate, wide receiver Andre Reed, into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Reed, like Kelly, will be presented by their former coach and fellow Hall of Famer Marv Levy.

"It's about time," Kelly said about voters failing to acknowledge Reed's greatness sooner. "We know how good he was. I'm in the Hall of Fame because of Andre Reed and Thurman Thomas and of course, Marv Levy. Andre's earned the right to be there and I can't wait to celebrate with him."

Kelly planned to lay low for a few days and concentrate on rest and rehab before a family wedding this weekend.

"The best thing for me is when I'm up in the morning and I'm eating my breakfast through my tube to see my daughters and my wife walk out and to see the smiles that are always on their faces every single morning. That's what I need," he said. "When you've had family support like I've had and public support like I've had there's no way that I'm not going to beat this because a lot of it's mental."

Asked if he's afraid of dying, Kelly smiled and said he is not.

"If it's my turn, if the good Lord decides that 55 is my age, so what. I'll be going to see my son (Hunter, who died in August of 2005 at age 8 of Krabbe's Disease) a little earlier than I thought I was going to. But the key for me is I know I have a lot more to do, a lot more lives to change and a lot of people out there are going to change my life. I'm still a long ways away (from dying), I hope and pray."

Former Bills great Jim Kelly says he feels "optimism" about his former team's chances this season. Players staying healthy will be a key, he said, adding that the season-ending knee injury linebacker Kiko Alonso suffered this month was a huge blow.

Just as important, Kelly said, will be the play of second-year quarterback E.J. Manuel. "E.J. is going to be it. We need a quarterback to step in and what I saw last year from the leadership standpoint, I loved," Kelly said. "I love how he communicates with the players. I've listened to him, talked to him. Everything he says is right on. But now we've got to see it on the field.

"I just pray he is the one, the franchise guy we've been looking for. He's a great kid."